News Letter

The Prestigious American National Checkers Tournament

This article offers guidelines on how you can set up and conduct an American National Checkers Tournament, with a primary focus on one-day tournaments and major tournaments.

Organizing the Tournament

The first thing you should do is to select a venue for your checkers tournament where the event will be held. While this can vary depending on whether you are holding a national tournament or a smaller, one-day event, the typical venues are hotel meeting rooms, restaurant playing rooms, food courts in a shopping mall, a private home, a local church, and a state park’s meeting room. This playing room should be inexpensive enough so as to ensure the best possible prize for the players, although adequate space, facilities and lighting are of course important for the checkers tournament.

ACF Membership Concerns

ACF membership is generally a prerequisite for all participants of American National Checkers Tournaments. An ACF membership fee of $25 is typically charged, which can be paid along with the entry fee for the tournament. Membership applications can be obtained at the ACF Website. Alternatively, beginner or junior players can pay an Associates membership program fee of $10.

American National Checkers Tournament Playing Rules

A set of detailed playing rules should be given out to participants of American National Checkers Tournaments. This can be a one to two page document for smaller tournaments, while a more detailed set of rules for larger events may be required. However, event rules may vary from tournament to tournament, depending on local custom as well as the preferences of the organizing committee.

One rule that you can implement is a policy that will keep stronger players from joining lower divisions than is suitable for their playing level. For example: A player who has already won any of the lower division events for example, should be required to move up to the next division. ACF ratings can be used in these instances to determine how the players should be placed.

In situations where a new player who has never entered an American National Checkers Tournament before, the organizing committee may decide to enter him or her in the bottom division, although players that are obviously highly qualified may be entered into a higher division. A brief checker test for the new entrant may be useful in these situations in order to assess a player’s skill level.